


Imperfect Love

by Zygarde22



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of attempted suicide, Slow Romance, Strained Friendships, Strained Relationships, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-28 10:15:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6325054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zygarde22/pseuds/Zygarde22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life has many imperfects, love is one of them. As Dawn Bellwether tries to adjust to life after prison she learns just how imperfect love and life can be, helping her on this journey is her former boss Leodore Lionheart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How Soon is Now?

Three years, six months, twelve hours, and fifteen minutes. This was the length of the sentence for former assistant mayor of Zootopia, Dawn Bellwether. Three years of looking at the world go by from behind bars; three years of wearing an orange jumpsuit and being referred to as Prisoner 489-B3.

Now, all of this was going to be coming to an end.

Standing at the entrance of Zootopia Maximum Security Penitentiary, she was . . . free. Her fifteen year sentence was mercifully shortened to three thanks to good behavior. Still, all things were not sunshine for her.

She was escorted out of the prison—not in an orange jumpsuit, but her normal dress attire: a green sweater and floral-print dress.

            “Alright, Miss Bellwether. You are now a ‘reformed’ member of society, however, so you don’t go about any more trouble, you will be monitored under parole,” the animal leading out of the prison said; a slack-jawed bull with a heavy drawl. Despite his appearance, he was one of the few people in this place that Dawn could tolerate. Opening the door before her, she walked out into the world a free sheep again.

            “Your parole officer will contact you in a few days. Have a good day, Miss Bellwether,” the bull parted as he closed the door behind her. Dawn looked at the concrete ground that lead out of the prison. She was, if her memory served her well, in Savannah Central, somewhere around Lions Gate.

            “Hello, Dawn! It’s good to see you’re finally free.” Dawn heard an all-too-familiar voice exclaim. She looked up, and speaking of lions, there before her was her former boss: former mayor of Zootopia, Leodore Lionheart in a button-down flannel, khaki pants, and all his smug glory. Narrowing her eyes, Dawn walked right past the giant feline, refusing to acknowledge him.

            “Now, come, Miss Bellwether. Is that any way to treat your old boss?” Leodore called after her as he followed the tiny sheep, much to her annoyance. Dawn walked to the nearest bus stop, doing her best to avoid eye contact with the pursuing lion.

            “Yes, that is the way I’m going to treat you. Now stop following me,” Dawn snapped as she sat down at the stop to wait for the bus to arrive. A quick glance to her side confirmed that the annoying lion was standing right beside her.

            “Do you have anything better to do than bother a former prisoner attempting to leave a _prison?”_ Dawn huffed at him irritably as she continued to wait.

            “As a matter of fact, I don’t! Or, well, not for a few hours, I don’t,” Leodore answered her as he sat down next to her. Dawn had a good mind to punch the stubborn predator.

            “ _Why_ are you here?” she spat, finally turning to him.

            “I’m here because I heard you were being released today and I wanted to talk to you,” he smiled. “And I have an offer for you.” He pulled out his wallet, took out a small card, and handed it to the sheep. It was a card for a construction company.

            “I have a friend who managed to get me a fairly decent job at his construction company, and I badgered him to let you work there as well,” he explained as she inspected the card. “He’s in need of a secretary, and, well, I told him you were the best.” Dawn returned her gaze to him and narrowed her eyes. She could see a bus in the distance traveling to her stop.

            “While that is a . . . tempting offer, I think not, Leo,” Dawn said, her voice cold. She god up and gathered her belongings to board the bus, “I’m done being your or anyone’s secretary, official or glorified.” She boarded the bus once it arrived, leaving her former boss to watch as it departed.

            The bus ride to her new place of residence was mercifully short and, thankfully, no one had recognized her. The place she would be staying at for now was a shabby apartment on the west side of Herd Street in the downtown section of the city. It had a single bed, two windows, and gaudy-looking wallpaper. Flopping onto the bed, Dawn tried to get some sleep. The bed was uncomfortable at best, but it was eons beyond the bed in her old prison cell.

            She slept for maybe a few hours, if the time on her phone was correct. Said phone was what actually woke her up as it rang; it was a number she didn’t recognize. Groggily, she picked up the cell phone and answered with a stiff yawn.

            “Hello, how may I help you?” Dawn managed, willing the sleep from her eyes.

            “Yes, hello, Miss Bellwether. I’m your parole officer, Erin Kodo,” the voice—female—greeted. Over the course of a few minutes, the woman on the other side explained what she would be doing with Dawn, mostly keeping her on the straight and narrow and helping her reenter society. Also, starting tomorrow, she would have to try and find a job.

            The next day, Dawn woke up at about six in the morning, reading to hopefully find someplace willing to hire her. The day before her release, she had gone to the prison’s clerical office and printed out several résumé copies to hand out to potential places of employment.

            “Alright, Dawn, you can do this,” she reassured herself as she looked herself over in the mirror in her apartment’s bathroom. Her wool was trimmed and her dress, a sunflower patter on this one, was prim and proper. Walking with confidence, she stepped out of her apartment, ready to meet the world—or at least she was for the first couple of hours, but after the twentieth business turned her away without so much as looking at her, she began to falter. Finding herself with only a quarter of her résumés taken, she was looking at a very, very long day ahead.

            Her phone suddenly rang and she let out a frustrated groan as she dug into her purse to retrieve it. After pulling it out she saw the number that she wanted to see the least, and belonging to the animal she the least wanted to talk to: Leodore Lionheart. She hit ignore and was about to put her phone back when he rang again, but she ignored him a second time. He rang again, and again, and again, and after a good number of minutes and call attempts, she finally caved and answered the phone.

            “What?!” she screamed into the receiver out of pure frustration, “What on earth could you possibly want to bother me _this_ much?!” She inhaled as she pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to collect herself.

            “I just wanted to talk. And, maybe, invite you out to lunch,” Leodore answered from the other side of the line. Dawn frowned—she did not want to speak to him, let alone go out with him to anything.

            “Come on, Dawn, humor me,” he pleaded at her silence. Dawn rolled her eyes at his request as she rubbed her face tiredly.

            “Fine, but only this once. After this, you leave me the hell alone, okay?” she hissed, caving to the lion’s invitation.

            “Good! How does Sahara Café sound? It’s on Flock Street. Say, at around noon?” Dawn glanced at the watch on her wrist; she could see it was eleven-forty right now. She sighed before agreeing to the time and place.

            Fortunately, Flock Street was only about a ten minute walk from her current location. She quickly located the Sahara Café, and there she spotted Lionheart sitting at an outdoor table. He wore the same flannel shirt from yesterday.

            “Ah, Miss Bellwether! Glad you made it,” Leodore welcomed her as he gestured to the other seat. The sheep begrudgingly sat across from her former boss with a scowl on her face.

            “Alright, Leodore, I’m here. What do you want?” Dawn’s voice dripped with contempt.  Leodore, for his part, either ignored her behavior towards or didn’t care. He cleared his throat.

            “As I told you, I just wanted to talk. Now, how was your day?” Leodore asked politely, placing a paw under his chin as he waited patiently for the small sheep to answer. Dawn rolled her eyes spitefully at his tone.

            “Oh, it’s been a rather _swell_ day,” she answered with a grimacing smile on her face, compounded with the sarcasm she conveyed. Leodore gave a nonchalant roll of his eyes in return.

 to her. She took it and looked it over before she pointed to the cappuccino as the only thing she wanted. Leodore ordered it along with a simple cup of black coffee for himself.

            “Look, Dawn. We’ve done a lot of things to make us not like each other,” Leodore stated, his smiled replaced with a frown, “but that does not mean we can’t act civilly towards one another.” She looked at him with indifferently.

            “Yes, it does. I don’t know if you know this, Leodore, but you’re not my boss anymore,” Dawn reminded him as a fierce scowl formed on her face again. “I don’t have to be friendly with you—just sitting here talking to you is a favor, and not one I’d do again anytime soon.” Her anger only increased as she continued to speak.

            ‘I mean, for starters, you gave me a job as ‘Assistant Mayor’ and treat me like some damn secretary with a glory title, and put me in a god-forsaken boiler room as an office!” she shouted furiously and leaned into the table aggressively. After a few moments of angered ranting and a few choice words, she let out a tired huff and crossed her arms. Leodore simply sat there and allowed the sheep to vent her frustrations. Once he was certain she had finished, he spoke up.

            “Finished?” he asked her politely, and when she nodded he smiled. “Good. Does it feel good to vent?” Dawn frowned but nodded begrudgingly.

            “Like I said, we’ve both done things to each other to make us resent one another. But, Dawn, it’s been three years. Don’t you think we can move on?” he asked her hopefully as the drinks arrived. Dawn thought to herself for a moment before she shook her head.

            “Sorry, but there’s just too much baggage with us right now. Maybe after a few months, but not at this moment,” she finally concluded as she got up from her seat to leave.

            “Well, just remember that the job offer still stands,” Leodore called after her as she part from the café. She decided that she had spent enough time on the streets and returned to her apartment. She closed the door behind her before she slid down the frame and released a frustrated sigh.

            She couldn’t tell what was worse: the fact that nearly every place she tried applying to turned her away at the door, or her former boss trying to be buddy-buddy with her after three years in prison. She needed some sleep.

            The next morning, as with the one before it, she checked in with her parole officer and told her of her job searching. She showered, put one some new clothes, and went to hand out résumés. Just as before, she got rejected almost instantly by most places. This continued for a few days until finally she started running out of places to find work. One afternoon, she looked at her phone before letting out a defeated sigh. She dialed the number for the one animal she had no desire to speak with again, and after a few minutes, the other line was answered.

            “Leodore Lionheart speaking. How may I help you?” she heard him say from the other end. She let out one more defeated sigh before speaking up.

            “Leodore, it’s me . . . Dawn. Is that job offer still open?” she asked tentatively. She heard some muffled moving on the other end before he spoke up again.

            “As a matter of fact, it is,” Leodore answered her enthusiastically, and though she couldn’t see it, she could tell he had that smug grin on his face. This was going to be a long day and she knew it.


	2. Instant Crush

Dawn was anything if not an agreeable ewe. While she did not like Lionheart in the slightest, she was willing to "work" with him if it meant she could get a job and some form of steady income that was legal. So she accepted the offer to go work at his friend's construction company. That was how she ended up in her current place.

Leodore's friend, as it turns out, was a rather talkative Ox named Dean Deauting. He explained to Dawn all her duties as a secretary of Deauting Construction Company, the various ins and outs of the place, and who to transfer different calls to.

"—and this will be your desk, Miss Bellwether. Work hours are between 6:00 and 10:00. Any questions?" Deauting finished with a smile on his face. Dawn simply shook her head and took a seat behind her desk. Deauting nodded and left Dawn to her own devices.

The office of Deauting Construction was slightly larger than her old office at Zootopia Town Hall, but that may be due to the fact that her current office wasn't a boiler room in the basement of the building, so that was always a plus. In addition, the job paid moderately well. The only downside was she had to deal with Leodore on a daily basis, but that was a small price to pay to have some income.

"Dawn! I'm glad you made it," she heard his obnoxious, booming voice say from her side. Speak of the devil and he shall come.

"Leodore, how . . . good to see you . . . ." Dawn managed through a strained smile.

"So, how do you like the office?" he asked her as he leaned his elbow on the edge of her desk and gave her a small smile. "I helped build it myself." His smile grew with pride. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"The office is . . . fine," she offered tentatively as she went to typing on the company's computer. When she noticed that Leodore had yet to leave her desk's side, she turned to face him.

"Don't you have something better to do than bother me today, Leo?" she asked him irritably before turning back to the computer screen.

"Hmm. Oh, you're right! Well, I'll see you at lunch then, Dawn," Leodore waved enthusiastically before sauntering off and leaving Dawn with some peace. That peace, however, was short lived as she heard another person speak to her.

"Oh! You must be Dawn, am I right?" Dawn heard a chipper voice say. She turned to locate the source and saw a rather large female elephant standing next to her with a big grin on her face and a box of what Dawn presumed to be some form of pastries.

"Yes, I'm Dawn. Can I help you, Miss . . . ?" Dawn trailed off, awaiting a name to be given.

"It's Missus, actually. I'm Tabitha Wheelwright. Nice to meet you! Leo has told us so much about you," Tabitha greeted excitedly as she put the box of food on Dawn's desk. Opening the box revealed a few doughnuts of assorted flavors. "It's a 'welcome to the company' present. Anyway, nice to meet you. Gotta get back to work—talk to you later!" the joyous elephant said and stomped off, leaving Dawn alone once more.

Her work continued unimpeded for most of the day, which mostly included writing up a few reports and taking calls and transferring them to the right departments. Time seemed to fly rather fast doing this job, she noticed, as 12:00 finally rolled around. However, Dawn didn't really care to go out or do anything for lunch so she instead continued her typing.

"I see you're still hard at work," she heard that smug voice, that had been nothing but a thorn in her side for the past few days, say. He was holding a paper bag and a cardboard drink tray. "I figured you would do something like this, so I brought you this." He waved the bag for emphasis before sliding it up to her and placing the drink with it. Rather than acknowledge his offer, Dawn continued to type. Leodore frowned.

"You know you can't ignore me forever," he said, his enthusiasm disappearing as he leaned back on the desk, much to Dawn's growing annoyance. Rather than dignifying the lion with a response, she continued to type away. Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, Leodore left her alone again for the rest of the day until it was time for her to clock out. Gathering a few items she brought with her, Dawn stepped out into the rather cool night air—of course being trailed by what might as well be her shadow at this point.

"Mind if I offer you a ride?" Leodore asked, his usual grin present on his face. Dawn frowned in frustration; how many times was he going to pester her in a day? She let out another sigh and spoke up.

"If you promise not to bother me at all tomorrow, I will ride with you. Okay?" Dawn finally answered, weary from the lion's constant attempts to get through to her.

"I give you my word," Leodore promised with a cross of his heard as he led her to the company's parking lot. He had apparently, in the three years they hadn't seen each other, traded in his old car for a slightly new one. Not that Dawn really cared. While driving to her apartment, Dawn asked the only question she could really bother to think of.

"Leodore, why do you keep trying to be friends with me?" She stared out the window as she said this, watching the passing cars and lights of the city go by. Leodore thought in silence for a few moments.

"Dawn, I think we have gotten on the wrong foot in our relationship. I would like to rectify that," he answered as he continued to drive. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"A bit late for that," she replied, her head on her fist as she leaned her arm against the door. "If you truly wanted to be my friend, you would have come and visited me while I was locked up." Her venomous tone caught Leodore a little off guard.

"I would have, but I was dealing with a few things," Leodore offered vaguely, a frown having formed on his face.

"That's bull and you know it. I spent three years in prison. Three fucking years!" Dawn shrieked and Leodore flinched. This was the first time he'd ever heard her swear. "You had three years to come and visit me and try to reconcile, but no! You choose to stay outside and just let me rot!" Tears had begun rolling down her face in her tirade. The car stopped just ahead of her apartment.

"Dawn, I—" But she cut him off.

"Save it, Lionheart!" she shouted, before her voice quieted. "Just . . . save it. Nothing you say will make any of this better." She opened the car door and jumped out, slamming the door behind her in anger. Weakly, Leodore spoke, finishing what he was originally going to say.

"I'm sorry, Dawn," he said with a sigh of defeat.

Dawn stormed into her apartment and let out a frustrated scream before flopping onto her bed. Her face was wet with tears and she was just so _angry_.

The next couple of hours were spent with her pacing around her apartment, trying her best to calm herself down. She had eventually managed to fall into a restless sleep at around 1:00 in the morning, waking up at 5:00 to get ready for work. Upon arriving at the construction company, she could see that Leo was holding up his end of the bargain and not bothering her. His lack of constant attention gave her peace.

She did much of what she did the day before, working on reports and answering calls. By the end of her shift she had managed to level her emotions somewhat, and she was working up the courage to apologize as best she could to Leodore. She saw him outside, just about to enter his car, and walked up to the lion.

"Leodore, I'm . . . I'm sorry," she managed, keeping her head down to avoid looking at his eyes. "I shouldn't have yelled like I did."

"No, you were right," Leodore admitted, prompting Dawn to look up. He had a rather uncharacteristic frown displayed, as if he was combating something internal. "I should have come and visited you while in prison. I know you have your reservations with talking to me, let alone being friends with me." He let out another long sigh before resuming.

"It's selfish to think you would to want to be friends with me after all that's occurred. I'm just, I'm sorry, Dawn." He opened the car door and gave a weak gesture with his hand. "I can—I can still give you a ride, i-if you want. I won't talk to you on the way back if that's what you want." To his surprise, she accepted. The ride was silent, but when they finally arrived at her apartment, Dawn spoke to Leodore before she left.

"Listen, Leo, I don't know if we'll ever be able to be friends, but I know you want to try, so just . . . ." she didn't couldn't finish the sentence.

"Don't worry, Dawn. I'll try my best. And who knows? Maybe you'll even grow to like me," he replied and his usual hearty laugh followed it. Dawn couldn't help but smile at this.

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks for the ride," she thanked him as she closed the door. He drove off, leaving her to go back to her apartment.

"Alright, Leo. Let's take this one step at a time," she said to no one but herself as she laid her head down on her bed and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Everybody Hurts

Dawn’s first couple of weeks working at Deauting were . . . interesting, to say the least. Not least of which were due to her slow, but steadily, building friendship with Leo. It was a hard thing at first to try and let him at least speak with her without her grimacing or becoming angry at him. There were some arguments (some caused by her, others caused by him) but the two were growing, if one could call it that.

            That’s not saying she had only interacted with Leodore in the first couple of weeks working there; there were other animals who worked in the main office of Deauting. There was, of course, Tabitha, who had managed to befriend Dawn despite her past. Dawn had asked the elephant one day why she was so nice to her when everyone else in the world treated her with such open contempt.

            “Everyone deserves a second chance! Even you,” she had responded kindly with her usual large smile and happy-go-lucky attitude. This had made Dawn smile—at least she had one friend in this world. Well, besides Leodore.

            The other members of the company were less easy to warm up to. This was probably due to the fact that the remainder of her coworkers were some form of predator. This made bonding with them, well, rather problematic.

            While most of them tended to just avoid her rather than outright confront her on her past wrongdoings, there were a select few who would just refuse to leave her alone regarding the Night Howler case. Whether they be random snide comments on her way to her office or the few anonymous notes left on her desk calling her some very lovely things, such as ‘Predator Hating Bitch’ and a few other choice names. Regardless, she did her best to not let these words get to her, and some days she even succeeded and took the abuse in stride. Other days, she would go home and cry for hours. The first couple of weeks were not fun for her.

            One day, Leodore saw her throwing another note she had received away in her waste bin; the thing was probably piled high with them by this point. Casually walking up to the bin, he picked up the crumpled paper and read the contents.

            “You know, for such a vulgar letter, it sure does have great penmanship,” Leodore chuckled in an attempt to make Dawn laugh. He did not succeed.

            “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” Dawn snapped as she began to work on reports. Leodore cast another look at the pile and frowned; he knew that Dawn would have a hard time—it was just a fact of life for her at this point in time—but to see her get this much slung at her was rather disheartening for the lion.

            “Do they ever get to you?” Leodore asked her, and she stopped her work for a moment and let out a slow breath.

            “Sometimes, I . . . I’ll go home and cry, but it’s okay. I’ll get over it,” she managed before continuing to work. Leodore furrowed his brow in sympathy; Dawn was a rather strong ewe in her own right, but even the strongest would crack after a while.

            “Well, if you ever feel like talking, know I’m always there for you, Dawn,” he assured her as he left the sheep to her work. Dawn sighed once he had gone.

The rest of the day was rather boring—besides receiving a few more notes, nothing happened. Leodore, as usual, offered a ride to her apartment, which she accepted. This had become a ritual between the two, and it was one of the things that were helping to bridge the gap in their strained friendship. On the drive, Dawn had brought up something that she would prefer stay buried in her past: her time in prison.

            “Leo, have I yet told you of what I experienced in prison?” Dawn mentioned out of the blue, catching Leodore off guard. He knew Dawn was normally very tightlipped about her time in prison, usually shutting down Leodore whenever he tried to pry about it. To have her so brazenly mention it was a bit of a surprise.

            “No, not that I can recall,” Leodore answered her, silently encouraging her to continue.

            “It wasn’t an easy time for me,” she said, face sagging. “The abuse I’m receiving here—imagine that, but worse.” Dawn’s mind began to recall the many attempts on her life in prison by furious predators that had heard of her scheme and wanted retribution.

            “Day in, and day out, I was attacked . . . . “ She was trying hard to fight back tears. “It got to the point where I . . . I had tried—tried taking my own life.” Her head hung in shame, and Leodore had by this point stopped the car on the side of the road.

            “Dawn—” Leodore began, holding out his paw and having placed it on Dawn’s small shoulder. The ewe gazed up at him—he had a warm smile on his face—and she couldn’t hold the tears back any more.

            Dawn didn’t know how long she had cried for—it might have been thirty minutes or an hour—all she knew is that she let her tears flow freely. Leodore did the only thing he could do: he held the small sheep to his chest and allowed her to liberate her sadness against him, offering himself as the only source of comfort she’s had in a long time.


	4. Give Me All Night Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm very thankful to the people who have read this story, I thought that since it was about Dawn and Leodore and not Nick and Judy( who will appear in the story at some point but it will be a while) that this fic wouldn't get popular, to see it blow up on not only Fanfiction.net but AO3 too, is something I never thought I'd see. So thank you.

Leodore woke up feeling a small ball of warmth on his chest. With a rousing yawn, he took in his surroundings. The place he was in was nothing like his own apartment; for one, it was much too small for a predator of his size, and had none of his usual decorations. He then heard a soft, lone yawn come from his chest. He peered down and saw—curled up in a comfortable ball and sleeping soundly—Dawn.

“This must be Dawn’s apartment . . . what am I doing in Dawn’s apartment?” Leodore asked himself quietly as he tried to remember what had transpired the night before that lead to him being here. He recalled that Dawn had cried her eyes out for nearly an hour after telling him about her attempted suicide back in prison. He had offered to stay with her the rest of the night. They must have fallen asleep.

Gingerly, Leodore tried to remove the sleeping ewe from his chest so as not to disturb her, but much to his dismay the sheep clung tighter as he tried to pick her up. After a few more attempts, Leodore finally gave up, as each time he tried to remove her she simply clung to him like a vice. He let out a defeated sigh and simply took the time to observe her form. She was so vulnerable despite how tough she portrayed herself—but then, most animals were once you took down the walls around them. And Dawn had erected some rather sturdy walls.

Leodore heard Dawn’s cell phone ring, rousing the sleepy ewe from her rather pleasant slumber. In her lethargy, she seemed to not notice the large lion she was resting on as she reached for her phone and picked it up.

“Yes? Oh, hello, Miss Kodo. I’ll be sure to do that. Thanks.” Dawn then hung up the phone.

“Who’s Miss Kodo?” Leodore asked, flinching when Dawn let out a startled yelp and fell off her bed in surprise. “Oh, sorry about that, Dawn,” he apologized sheepishly with a hesitant smile as he peered over the bed to see her lying on her back, scowling up at him.

“First, she’s my parole officer. And second, what are you doing in my apartment? Three, why are you _in_ my _bed?”_ Dawn questioned him as she rose to her feet and brushed herself off.

“I offered to stay with you the rest of the night and I believe we must have fallen asleep,” Leodore answered as he got off the bed and helped Dawn to her feet.

“Thanks. I know I told you some rather . . . heavy things last night,” she told him softly, remembering how she had poured her heart out to him.

“No problem, Dawn,” he assured her with a patient smile. “Anytime you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to just yell at, I’m always a call away. Um, mind if I use your shower?” Dawn nodded her approval and Leodore ducked into the cramped shower. The lukewarm water rushed over him and Leodore began to think of how far Dawn and he had come in terms of their relationship. They had gone from near contempt (mostly on Dawn’s side) to the two having something moderately resembling a friendship.

Satisfied, he turned off the shower and was about to shake himself dry when he heard Dawn from the other side of the bathroom door.

“If you dare shake yourself, I’m kicking you out of my apartment in the nude.” Leodore grinned to himself—still the same old Dawn, no matter how friendly she was to him. He used one of the large towels (well, compared to Dawn they were large, they were pretty modest for him) to dry himself off and he reemerged in the clothes he had worn the previous night.

“I’ll see you in the car,” he called as he left Dawn to get ready for work. A few minutes passed before Dawn knocked on the car window, and he let her in. They drove to the company in relative silence with only the radio providing commentary. Upon entering the building, the two went their separate ways: Dawn to the office she worked in and Leodore to the contractor’s space.

At lunch time, Leodore found Dawn, as was the norm, working through lunch, much to his annoyance. Luckily, as is also the norm, he brought her lunch as planned to sit with her. Differently this time around, he found Dawn joined by her other friend at the company, the elephant Tabitha. Leodore was fond of Tabatha and her husband, granted the latter he’d only met once at an office party during the holidays.

“Hello, ladies, mind if I join you?” Leodore said as he sat down next to Dawn.

“Well, I suppose since you already took a seat,” Dawn deadpanned characteristically, to which he ignored. He offered her a Styrofoam box, which she took tentatively.

“Do you always have to bring me lunch? I’m perfectly fine not eating during the day,” Dawn assured him as she opened the box to see what he had brought her.

“I just don’t want you going hungry during the day,” Leodore responded with his usual pleasant smile plastered across his muzzle. Tabitha was giggling off to the side.

“What’s so funny?” he demanded, curious as to why the elephant was so humored by the exchange.

“Oh, nothing. Just that you two act like an old married couple,” Tabitha giggled. Dawn’s eyes widened and Leodore raised a brow.

“Me? Married to _him?_ Please, Tabitha, I have _some_ standards,” Dawn replied wryly and Leodore turned to glance at the sheep for the insult.

“If you say so,” Tabitha said in her sing-song voice as she got up to leave the two alone.

“The nerve of her sometimes, I swear,” Dawn huffed, blushing enough to shine through her pearly white skin, much to Leodore’s ever present and growing amusement.

“What’s wrong, Dawn? The idea of being married to a stud like me got you down?” Leodore said in a mocking tone, attempting to make the sheep turn even redder. His grin widened when he succeeded with clear result.

“I—you . . . ugh!” Dawn exclaimed in exasperation as she scooted out of her chair and went off to clear her head. A few minutes later, the ewe returned, glaring daggers at Leodore, which he took with stride. The rest of the day went by without much incident.

While dropping Dawn off at her apartment, Leodore decided to gather some courage to ask Dawn that would likely get him either A: slapped, or B: slapped and given the silent treatment for a year. But nothing ventured nothing gained, as it goes.

“So, Dawn, I was wondering if you’d like to come by my apartment sometime this weekend?” Leodore asked with a wide, brimming smile on his face, trying his best to appear confident and not stupid or nervous. Dawn simply looked at him quizzically.

“Why?” she asked hesitantly.

“Oh, no reason. Just thought you might want to come over. We can share some beers, watch some movies. You know, friend stuff,” he elaborated, still hoping that she wouldn’t slap him. After a considering moment, she gave a passive shrug of her shoulders and agreed to Saturday at around eight in the evening.

The week went by rather quickly, not much in the way of change for Leodore or Dawn. That Saturday, Leodore drove by Dawn’s apartment, where she was waiting outside by the steps. She was wearing the same floral print dress that Leodore found so endearing.

“I like your dress,” he commented as Dawn stepped into the car.

“Thanks . . . I guess. It’s the same dress I wear almost every other day,” she said as the car started and they headed off to Leodore’s apartment on Grass Street.

“I know, but I think you look nice in it.” Dawn just rolled her eyes.

“Leodore, what’s this all about?” she asked, making Leodore hesitate for a moment. “I know you want to be friends, and I’ve accepted that, but I have a feeling that this goes deeper.” Leodore sighed; it was time to come clean.

“Dawn, I like you. A lot,” he managed with a steady voice, doing something that Dawn had never seen him do in all her time knowing him: blush.

“Leodore, is . . . is this supposed to be a date?” Dawn asked incredulously, stunned at the fact that Leodore would as her on a date in the most roundabout way. When Leodore nodded, Dawn let out a long, humored laugh—probably the longest laugh she’s had in the last three years. “Oh, this is too rich. The mighty and powerful Leodore Lionheart, too bashful to ask a sheep out on a date.” She kept laughing at the lion’s expense.

“Fine, I was too bashful to ask you. I blame Tabatha,” he admitted with a hint of indignation at Dawn’s taunting.

“Alright, Mister Lionheart, I’ll give you one chance to woo me tonight,” she said, giving him a sly grin.

Alright, Leodore though, time to woo the sheep, if you will.

 

 

 


	5. Give me All Night Part 2

Leodore’s apartment was much how Dawn had expected it to be: fairly decorative with most of the items showing their owner’s personality. This included the cap and diploma of his alma mater, a few pictures of his family, and some sparse jerseys from various sports teams all hung on the wall. All in all, the place screamed Leodore.

“So, what do you think of my lovely abode?” Leodore asked, gesturing to the space around them as he waited for Dawn’s response with near bated breath. Dawn rolled her eyes before speaking.

“I suppose it’s fine,” she said aloofly as she sat down at the sofa facing the large, plasma television. “A far improvement from my current apartment,” she added, thinking that that was not a very hard feat to accomplish, considering her apartment was some hole in the wall that reeked of various smells that would make most animals (Dawn included) gag upon smelling them.

“Well, make yourself at home. I’ll get us some snacks,” Leodore called as he went into his kitchen, leaving Dawn to her own devices. Glancing around, she noticed one of his family pictures—there were five lions: four females and one male, and judging by the looks, Dawn could deduce that that was Leodore in his teenage years.

“Ah, that’s my mother and sisters,” Leodore commented from behind, making Dawn jump in surprise. He let out a hearty laugh and sat down next to her, handing her a drink. “I haven’t seen them in some time.”

“I noticed that all your family pictures are of you and your sisters and mom—no dad?” she asked, and he nodded and picked up the picture.

“Dad skipped town after we were born. Mom didn’t like to talk about it much,” he reminisced, tearing his gaze away from the picture as he set it back down. Dawn decided not to bring the subject up again, and took a swig of the beer that Leodore had given her. She cringed at the taste.

“God, did you have to get such a bitter drink?” she complained, much to Leodore’s amusement as he took a large swig of his own dark stout.

“Not a fan of Guinness, I see. I have other drinks if you want some,” he offered, pointing to the kitchen. Dawn got up and went to the fridge to find a drink more palatable to her, preferably something sweet. She soon found a drink more preferable and returned to the living room where Leodore was looking through several DVD’s for a movie to play.

“Dawn, got any preferences for movies?” he asked as he continue to rummage through the various movies.

“Um, not really. Just pick something good, I guess,” she answered idly as she sat down at the sofa. Leodore finally picked a movie that he thought both he and Dawn might like. It was an action movie.

“Dawn, can I ask you a question?” he requested a few minutes into the movie. Dawn glanced at him. She contemplated making a sarcastic remark about him already asking a question, but decided against it.

“And what might that question be, Leo?”

“Why did you agree to go on a date with me?” Dawn thought long on what she could answer with; none of them really made much sense to her so she just said what she was thinking.

“I don’t know. I guess I thought it would be a fine distraction from life, and my past,” she finally offered, staring at the screen as the hero took down a mook in some unrealistic fashion. “I’ve been through a lot, Leo. More than most animals. Having to not think of it is, in a way, a plus for me.” A small smile crept upon her face.

“And besides, I thought you wanted a chance to woo me,” she added, holding down her laugh, making Leodore roll his eyes.

“Well, tell me, Miss Bellwether, am I succeeding?” he asked, a small bit of hope present in his voice. Dawn simply took another sip of her drink as an answer.

The movie dragged on, action scene after action scene. Eventually, sleep overtook the two and they fell asleep together on the couch. That Sunday morning, Leodore was the first to wake up noticing that Dawn had, in her sleep, grabbed him. Nudging the ewe gently, Leodore tried to rouse her from her sleep.

“Dawn, wake up,” he said gently into her ear, which twitched at the sound.

“Ugh, do you have to wake me up on a Sunday morning? Can’t I sleep in like a normal girl . . . .” she grumbled sleepily as she tapped Leodore on the head to let her up from the couch. “I’m going to use your shower,” she announced as she went to the bathroom of the apartment.

“Just so you know, I don’t have towels so you’ll have to shake yourself dry,” Leodore called from the other side of the door. He could hear Dawn release a long, frustrated cry, much to his amusement. A few minutes later, Dawn emerged from the bathroom glaring daggers at him.

“I’ll drive you home, if you like,” he offered, and she nodded. The two drove to her apartment, letting the early morning radio DJ be the only noise between them. Arriving outside Dawn’s apartment, she turned to Leodore and gave him a small smile.

“Well, that was fun. I might considered doing it again, Leo—” She was interrupted by her phone ringing. Immediately assuming it was her parole officer, she picked it up and answered without checking the caller ID.

“Yes, Dawn Bellwether. How many I help you?” she scripted, but the voice she heard from the other end made her blood rung cold.

“Dawn! It’s good to hear form my daughter again,” an all-too-familiar feminine voice greeted. “It’s also good to see that you are out of prison, dear.” Dawn nearly threw the phone out the window.

“M-Mother! It’s—it’s so nice to hear from you,” Dawn replied, her voice strained, trying her best not to scream. “How did you find my number?” She had absolutely no idea how her mother got her current cell number despite the fact that she had changed it after leaving her house nearly twenty years ago.

“Oh, your parole officer gave it to me. Such a lovely lady,” her mother responded, and Dawn had to fight down a groan of frustration.

“Mother, I know you aren’t calling just to make pleasantries. What do you want?” She so badly wanted to get to the bottom of what her mother was trying to get from her, and get it over with.

“Such a rude child. Alright then, Dawn, I wish for you to come over. I mean, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, and when your only child left comes out of prison, you wish to reconnect. And I would be so glad if you came by today,” the ewe on the other side of the line said.

“Sure . . . mother, I’ll be there soon,” Dawn relented, and she hung up before banging her head on the dashboard, causing Leodore to flinch.

“Um, so that was your mother, I assume,” he stated, and she nodded, “and, I’m also assuming she wants you to visit her today.” Dawn nodded again. Leodore gave a brief nod of his own.

“I guess I’ll drive you there,” he decided as he turned the car back on and began to drive. Dawn just groaned in frustration. This was going to be a horrible, horrible, _horrible_ Sunday, she just knew it.

 


	6. Mother

They always said Sundays were supposed to be lazy and carefree days for most people; a time of the week to just sit back and relax before the doldrums of the weekday began, but Dawn Bellwether was having anything but a relaxing Sunday. As a matter of fact, her Sunday was going to hell in a handbasket rather quickly. Most of this was due to one particular ewe: her mother Elisabeth Bellwether, to Dawn the worst animal on the face of the earth.

Dawn and Leodore were a few miles from her mother’s house and Leodore was trying to pry why exactly Dawn disliked her mother so much—to no success, of course, with each question being immediately shot down with either an indignant no or a death glare that could stop a charging rhino in its tracks. Finally, they reached Dawn’s mother’s house.

“Stay outside, I’ll only need a minute,” Dawn told Leo as she stepped out of the car and onto the street. She took a moment to take in the place where she was raised from birth; it had been twenty years since she last saw this house. She had been nineteen when she left her old home and went out on her own. It had the same roof, same front door, same perfectly manicured lawn—everything was as she left it twenty years ago.

Taking a deep breath, Dawn walked up to the door and gave a few tentative knocks. After a few seconds the door opened to reveal a ewe who looked strikingly similar to Dawn, but with the age of about fifty or so years to her.

“Ah, Dawn, good to see you. I’m glad you could make it. Come in,” Elisabeth gestured inside as she welcomed Dawn into the house. The house’s interior was much like the exterior: no different than when she left the place years ago. Same wallpaper, same white pastoral ceiling, and the one thing that haunted Dawn: a framed picture from when she was fourteen; it was a picture of her mother, her sister Liana, and their father Hal. Dawn quickly turned away from the picture, least the memories from those times rear their ugly head.

“So, Dawn, dear, do you want some refreshments? Tea, water,” Elisabeth offered, though Dawn declined and simply took a seat in the living room, her mother doing the same.

“Alright, mother, what do you want?” Dawn asked outright, not even bothering with the pleasantries for her mother, much to the older ewe’s annoyance.

“Dawn, my dear, can’t a mother who hasn’t seen her child in nearly twenty years sit down and talk to her like two civilized animals?” her mother replied with innocent defense, and Dawn narrowed her eyes.

“I know you have another motive to this, you wouldn’t just call me out of the blue.” Dawn glared at her mother like the older ewe had committed murder. Elisabeth rolled her eyes and answered.

“Dawn, I assure you that I have no ulterior motive, I just—” Dawn cut her off.

“That’s crap and you know it. You had twenty years to reconcile, and now after I’ve been in prison for three years, suddenly you want to reconnect?!” Dawn shouted, rising from her seat and pointing an accusing finger at her mother, who was taken aback by her daughter’s sudden outburst.

“Now listen here, you!” Elisabeth shrieked in outrage, rising from her seat as well.

“No, you listen. For seven years, you treated me like a pariah after dad and sis died.”

“Don’t you dare mention them!”

“Why not?” Dawn shot back. “They were my family too. If anything, I should have been with them when the crash happened. It would have saved the world and I a lot of trouble.” She got up from her seat and headed for the door. “Never call me again, mother.” She opened the door, not even bothering to spare her mother a final glance as she retreated from the house.

Outside, she could see that Leodore was still waiting for her patiently; he was playing on his phone.

“Let’s go. I can’t stand to be at this place another minute,” Dawn growled, grabbing Leodore’s attention and causing him to nearly drop his phone as she opened the passenger seat door.

“Dawn, are you . . . okay?” Leodore asked hesitantly as he entered the car after her.

“Do I look okay, Leo?” Leodore gave an admitting shake of his head. He was about to ask another question but Dawn had already beat him to it. “Just don’t, Leo.” She turned to stare out the window as the street slowly began to move and the house she hated so much transitioned into the next.

“Dawn, just know I’m here to talk if you need it1,” Leodore assured her, giving his normal characteristic smile. Dawn hated and adored that smile.

“Leo, do you mind taking me to one last place?” she asked, and he smiled in answer.

“Not at all, Dawn.” She directed him to a place all the way in the Meadowlands. The drive would be for at least an hour, not counting for Leo having to stop for gas. In that time, Leodore decided to ask Dawn why she held such distaste for her mother.

“So, Dawn, why don’t you and your mother get along?” Leodore asked as he concentrated on the road. Dawn let out a groan; she hated bringing up this part of her past with anyone.

“It’s a long, long, _long_ story,” Dawn sighed as she sank into the car seat.

“Well, we’ve got time,” Leodore assured her, his eyes glued to the road ahead of him. She let out another sigh as she started where it all began.

“When I was fourteen, my father and sister were . . . killed,” Dawn said quietly, remembering that day nearly twenty years ago, the one that changed her life. She and her sister had gotten into an argument over something really insignificant, she recalled.

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Leodore mentioned, but Dawn didn’t answer. Not for a few seconds, at least.

“Yeah. Her name was Liana. She was ten years older than me.” Dawn remembered her sister’s appearance; she had been a rarity for most sheep. Rather than snow white fleece like her father, mother, and Dawn, Liana had had charcoal black fleece.

“I thought she was the prettiest animal ever. She was my idol when I was younger,” Dawn continued. “Most sheep thought she was weird. She had black fleece, but to me, she was just my sister.” Memories of the fun she and her sister had had when they were younger began to flash through her mind. They were such happy times.

“I can see she meant a lot to you. I couldn’t tell you what I would feel if I lost any of my sisters,” Leodore said as he maneuvered the car around a turn. “So, what was your dad like?”

“He was a rather nice man. Much nicer than my mother was." The times she had spent with her father were few and far in-between, but they were still good memories. “They had both died in a car crash,” Dawn finally concluded. “After they died, my mother seemed to blame me for it. She never got over it.” Leodore nodded.

“You know, sometimes I wish I had been in the car with them. Maybe then I wouldn’t be in such a sorry state,” Dawn said softly, resting her head on the dashboard. “No more pain, no more torment.” She closed her eyes. “No more little sheep that cause so much pain to the world.” She was startled when Leodore suddenly stopped the car. Dawn glanced at him and he had such a look of shock on his face.

“Dawn?” He reached for the ewe and placed his paw gingerly on her shoulder.

“Leodore, I’ve done things that no mammal should be forgiven for. I ruined lives . . . I almost killed some animals because of my prejudice.” The memory of when she almost ended Judy Hopp’s life in the museum surfaced.

“All because of something that happened when I was fourteen,” Dawn choked out as tears streaked through her fur. She felt a finger wipe a tear from her face.

“Dawn, I know nothing I say or do will ever change the past, but know this: I forgive you,” Leodore said with conviction as his frown turned into a smile. “And you have to learn to forgive yourself.” He started the car back up and continued driving to the Meadowlands. The rest of the drive was filled with silence until finally they arrived at their destination: a graveyard named “St. Andrew’s Cemetery”.

“Well, here we are. I take it you want to be alone again?” Leodore asked and Dawn nodded. “I’ll be waiting here. Take as long as you need.” Dawn stepped out of the car and entered the graveyard. They were still there after all this time, Dawn thought as she found the two headstones she was looking for. The first read: “Here lies Liana Bellwether. Taken from us too soon”. The second read: “Here lies Henry Victor Bellwether. Loving father and husband”. Dawn took a deep breath and placed her paws on both headstones.

“Hey dad, hey sis,” she began as she felt tears well up in her eyes again. “Sorry I haven’t been here in a while. I’ve had it rough since you two went. Mom hasn’t made things any easier—” She began to pour her heart out to the gravestones of her deceased father and sister; her insecurities, her guilt, her wish to simply be gone. When she finally returned to the car, she felt like she had cried for an eternity.

The drive back was in silence; Leodore felt like Dawn needed as much. Upon reaching her apartment, Leodore glanced at the ewe. Her eyes were red from all the crying she’d done that day.

“Dawn? You okay?” Leodore asked cautiously as he watched Dawn brood for a few moments. She turned her heads towards him.

“I’m a broken ewe, Leo,” she told him, and he placed his paw on her cheek and gave her one of his signature warm smiles.

“I know, Dawn. And when you’re ready, I’ll be here to help you pick up the pieces.”

 


	7. Drive-In Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, my editor and I had summer classes to deal with.

Dawn yawned as she woke. Upon looking at her phone’s clock she noted it was about half an hour early to rise. Regardless, she released a small, tired sigh and got up to prepare for work. It had been a little over three months since she was released from prison, and so far things were . . . okay, she assumed. She had a steady job that paid well, she kept up with her parole officer, and she had a couple friends (namely Leodore and Tabitha). Aside from the impromptu visit to her mother’s (an event that she pushed so far into the back of her mind she feared it may become a tumor), things were going pretty smoothly for the ewe.

After taking a quick shower, Dawn checked her phone once more to see she still had twenty minutes until Leo came to pick her up for work. With little else to do, she simply walked outside and waited patiently on the steps of her apartment, glancing idly at news articles on her phone.

At some point her mind wandered to Leodore. She had a rather . . . complicated relationship with her former boss/now coworker. At first, she never thought she would be able to talk to Leodore, let alone work with him again after she left prison. But here she was, patiently waiting for him to arrive so she could head to work. She would almost call him a friend (but never to his face, least he get something flared in that large ego of his).

Soon she recognized the signs of his car and sat up, walking to the curve where his car had pulled up to.

“Morning, Dawn. Up and early, as per usual,” Leodore greeted her as he offered one of his usual smiles. Dawn habitually rolled her eyes and entered the car, and the two were off to Deauting Construction for the umpteenth time that month.

“Say, Dawn, I have an idea,” Leodore said as he turned down her street. Dawn couldn’t resist the easy joke that popped into her head.

“You have an idea? Stop the presses,” she teased sarcastically, much to Leodore’s amusement. It was practically a ritual between the two at this point.

“Yes. Now, hear me out, what if we—” Leodore started, and when he said ‘we’, Dawn’s ears perked for a moment. What could they possibly do together? “—go on a road trip? Eh? What do you say?” Dawn looked him straight in the eyes.

“No,” she answered bluntly, not even considering the thought, to which Leodore had counted on.

“Come on, Dawn. You can’t just stay cooped up in that apartment of yours for the rest of your life. You have to go out and explore the world; make friends,” he said as the car came to a stop at their work. The two exited the vehicle.

“Listen, Leo, I appreciate this, but I don’t really see a reason why I would want to go on a road trip with you,” Dawn admitted as she entered the building, Leodore following behind her.

“I figured you’d say as much, so I bought backup,” she heard him say, and she turned around to face the lion, only to see her other friend Tabitha standing behind him. Dawn narrowed her eyes.

“You didn’t rope Tabitha into this silly attempt.” Her elephant friend gave her a small smile and a wave. “Sorry, dear, but Leodore’s right. You can’t just stay cooped up in your apartment all your life,” Tabitha said with her usual smile. Dawn frowned but released a defeated sigh. In hindsight, she probably should have seen this coming from Leo.

“Fine. When’s this road trip?” Dawn finally gave in as she stepped into her office and booted up her computer.

“Wednesday, and don’t worry, I already cleared everything with Mister Deauting, so I should see you at about ten in the morning,” Leodore explained as he began to walk to the contractors area, leaving a mildly frustrated Dawn. “Nothing long, just a trip to Maneverse to see my mother and sisters.”

When Wednesday finally rolled around, Dawn was ready with a few days’ worth of clothes packed when Leodore picked her up. She was still a little hesitant to go with Leodore on what would amount to a four hour trip to his family’s house, but against her better judgement she decided to humor the lion.

“So, why am I going with you to Maneverse to see your mom and sisters?” Dawn asked idly as she watched the passing world through the car of the window. Leodore smiled.

“We are going because it’s for my sisters’ and I’s thirty-ninth birthday. And seeing as you are my closest friend, I thought it might be fun to invite you along for a few days and let you meet my family,” he said, his smile never leaving his face. This surprised Dawn.

“I’m surprised you’re that old. You look like you’re barely pushing thirty,” Dawn noted. She had known that Leo was a bit younger than her, but she wasn’t expecting only a year’s difference.

“Speak for yourself, Dawn; you barely look your own age,” Leodore replied, and Dawn let out a small laugh. “What?” I’m serious. You look like a ewe in her teens.” The comment brought forth an eye roll from Dawn.

The rest of the trip to Maneverse was filled with idle chitchat and small talk. Within a few hours, they arrived in Maneverse and made their way to the Lionheart residence. A lone lioness sat on the front porch, sipping from a cup and reading a newspaper.

“Who’s that?” asked Dawn as she pointed her thumb at the lioness.

“That would be my lovely mother, Sarabi Lionheart,” Leodore answered as he opened the car and waved at his mother. “Hey, mom!” he called in her direction as he exited his vehicle and approached her with arms outstretched.

“Leodore, it’s good to see you dear,” his mother replied as she brought her son in to a large hug; Leodore easily dwarfed his mother in size. Dawn stepped out of the car and gave a curt wave towards Sarabi.

“Oh, so this is the ewe you were telling me so much about,” Sarabi exclaimed as she let go of her son and went up to Dawn, giving a big smile. “You’re right, she is adorable.” Dawn could feel her face flush with heat.

“Mother!” Leodore protested frantically as his mother let out a heaty laugh, reminiscent of his own.

“Oh, calm down, you. I’ll tell your sisters that you’ve arrived. They’ll want to meet Dawn right away.” With that said, Sarabi stepped inside the house, leaving equally embarrassed Leodore and Dawn outside.

“You told your mother I was adorable?” Dawn deadpanned as she eyed Leodore, who was trying his best to avoid her gaze.

“What? There is no sense in lying to my mother about it,” he replied defensively. He suddenly noticed his mother exiting the house with three other lionesses: Leodore’s sisters.

“Miss Bellwether, is it?” Sarabi asked, and Dawn nodded. “These are my daughters: Nala, Sun, and Penda.” She pointed to each in question, and the three introduced themselves to Dawn. They then suddenly began to bombard her with a million questions, and much to her embarrassment they were about Leodore’s and her relationship.

From what Dawn had seen of Leodore’s sisters, they were vastly different from Leodore himself. Nala was kind but rather shy at first, but she seemed to warm up to Dawn quickly. Dawn liked her. Sun was a bit more like Leodore in that she was rather boastful and quite loud, but she was also kind a little bit of a klutz, as noticed by Dawn when they went to dinner that night and the lioness had almost tripped and fell. Finally, there was Penda, who seemed to not take to Dawn as immediately as her sisters did, but she did seem to also warm up to her. Dawn liked her too.

That night after dinner, Dawn sat on the back porch, sipping lemonade given to her by Miss Lionheart. Leodore sat next to her, also drinking lemonade.

“So, Dawn, thoughts on my lovely family?” Leodore asked as they watched the night sky. This was one of the many benefits to living in Maneverse: it was far enough away from Zootopia proper that the stars weren’t blotted out by the city lights.

“I like your sisters,” she answered, then remembered his mother. “And I definitely like your mother much more than mine.” Leodore released a hearty laugh at that.

“Yes, I imagine that’s not too hard to accomplish, given what I’ve seen of your mother,” he said, sipping his lemonade. Dawn simply rolled her eyes.

“Leo . . . thanks,” she decided to say, and he glanced at her to find her staring intensely at the stars. “For bringing me here, I mean. I guess I needed a peaceful place to clear my mind.” She took a quick glance at Leo to note his normal smile on his face. “I’ve never seen so many stars like this.” Leodore smiled wider at the comment.

“Yeah. Maneverse is a nice place to stargaze. I remember the summer nights I’d spend with my sisters on the fields here, watching the stars and fireflies pass by.”

“This place is sure different than Zootopia. Guess it could be worse.” Unconsciously, Dawn’s small paw moved closer to Leodore’s, until it was gently resting right on top of the lion’s. It didn’t leave his for the rest of the night as they watched the stars in peace.


	8. You Are the Best Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time since I last updated this thing, but I'm back and I hope you guys can forgive the long leave of absence. It's mostly due to the fact that my old editor is gone and I had to get a new one, so sorry for the possible drop in quality as well. Still enjoy and what not.

Maneverse in the morning was a far cry from Zootopia in the morning. They were much more silent, they were more… serene; none of the sound of cars honking in the streets below. It’s as though the world was still asleep, waking up along with her. This is the way Dawn saw this as she awoke on her second day at the Lionheart house. Letting out a drowsy yawn Dawn flopped out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower.

The Lionheart house was still silent, Dawn could hear the sounds of several animals snoring; indicating that a good chunk of mammals in the house were still asleep, so as silently as she could, she entered the bathroom, closing her eyes she began to strip out of her dressing gown. Just as she opened her eyes she saw a flustered, wide eyed and most of all naked Leodore standing. The two stared at one another not sure what to say or do

“Um…hi Dawn.”  Leodore said; still not sure how to react to the situation before him at this moment, while he’s walked in on many female animals naked, almost all them were his mother or his sisters;  not another species and most important of all; not Dawn of all animals, “I-I didn’t know you were up.” Leo said as he tried to make the situation less awkward, though by the face Dawn was making, this was failing spectrally.

“Yeah…I normally get up at this time of day.” Dawn said trying to not look anywhere else besides Leodore’s face, this has probably been the most embarrassed she’s ever felt since middle school, “Um… I’m gonna go into the hallway, and we’ll pretend this never happened agreed?” Dawn said as she hurriedly put her dressing gown back on.

“Agreed.” And with that Dawn rushed out of the bathroom. About thirty minutes later Leo emerged from the bathroom, allowing Dawn to finally take a shower. Letting the nice warm water wash over her wool, it was a nice feeling. It had been a long while since Dawn was just able to…relax. The shower in her apartment did not really allow for relaxing of any kind, what with its often-random cutting of the warm water and other things that made the practice not so peaceful, but here in Maneverse the shower just felt, needed.

Turning off the warm water, Dawn stepped out of the shower and began to dry off, after getting dressed opting for a new floral pattern sun dress she emerged from the bathroom and made her way to the kitchen where Sarabi and Leodore were already waiting, both of them sipping gingerly from mugs of coffee. She and Leo caught eyes but immediately turned away from one another gaze, Sarabi noticing this laughed at her son and his friend’s bashfulness.

“So Dawn, did you sleep well?” Sarabi asked Dawn as she took another sip of her coffee.

“Yes, it’s been so long since I’ve slept in a bed that didn’t feel like a pile of bricks.” Dawn said as she poured herself a mug of coffee, Sarabi nodded as she watched Dawn.

“So Dawn, Leo is heading into town, I figured you could accompany him,” Sarabi said as she finished her mug of coffee and got up to place the container in the sink, “You know, see the sights and be shown around town.” Sarabi finished as she sat back down at the kitchen table. Dawn thought for a moment.

“Sure I guess it’s okay.” Dawn said as she went up to the coffee maker and poured herself a mug of coffee.

“It’ll be fun, plus Maneverse may be small but it’s got some rather nice attractions as a matter of fact, I think a fair is going on,” Leodore said as he finished his mug.

“Well I guess it’s a good thing I wore the sundress.” Dawn said. After finishing her coffee and saying hello to Leo’s sisters, they then embarked to Maneverse.

The town of Maneverse was rather small, well it was small compared to Zootopia. Which made Dawn wonder why Leo ever left it? As they walked, she noticed the many animals that inhabited the small town, living up to its name many of them were predators, specifically lions, but other savannah animals lived there as well including zebras, gazelles and several others.

“So what do you think of the town Dawn?” Leodore asked as they walked passed a bakery; Dawn placed a ginger to her chin and began to think.

“It’s nice, a lot quieter than Zootopia,” Dawn said which was true. Maneverse had barely any cars save for the occasional truck that would drive through; besides this and the occasional group of kids running through making noise, Maneverse was the epitome of quiet. After walking around for a few hours with Leo stopping every so often to say hello to an old acquaintance or to show Dawn a place that he frequented in his younger years; the two decided to stop at a diner that was also a favorite spot of Leo’s when he was a teenager.

“Welcome to Martha’s Diner Dawn, best place for grub in all of Maneverse,” Leo said as they stepped inside the diner. Dawn took a cursory glance around the restaurant, it had posters of the local high school sports team, a rather old advertisement for the establishment from several years ago judging by the black and white photo of the person on it. The chairs at the counter were the usual leather red kind one would expect to find in a diner. Sitting at various tables were several different patrons of different species, talking or eating, not paying much mind to the ewe or lion that walked in.

“Well if it isn’t Leo himself I haven’t seen you since…well I don’t know how long,” A middle-aged giraffe said, giving Leo a large smile. She then noticed Dawn and her smile grew, “Oh Leo who’s this?” The giraffe asked.

“Long time no see Matilda, this is my friend and co-worker Dawn,” Leo said introducing the ewe to the giraffe that cordially shook her hand.

“It’s nice to meet one of Leo’s older friends,” Dawn stated, Matilda nodded and lead the two to a seat.

“So what will you two drink?” Matilda asked as she pulled out a pen and notepad to write down the two’s orders.

“Um, coffee for me,” Dawn said and Leo nodded indicating he was having the same thing.

“Alrighty, I’ll be right back with your drinks. You two take your time to decide what you’re gonna order to eat,” Matilda said as she left the ewe and lion alone.

“So…what would you recommend?” Dawn asked as she looked through the menu for anything that might appeal to her.

“I remember the cheese omelets here were the best, and so were their hash browns,” Leodore said as he thought of what he used to like when he frequented the diner in his teenage years.

“I guess I’ll get the omelet.” Dawn said as she put the menu down, eventually Matilda returned with their coffee, and Dawn and Leo put their orders, “So your mom mentioned a fair, is it any good?” Dawn asked as she tried to imagine the fair that Sarabi was talking about.

“Oh the fair, yep it’s real fun. It’s the Maneverse summer fair,” Leo said as he remembered his time at the fair, both when he was a young lion cub and when he was a teen.

“Cool, I can’t wait,” Dawn said as her mind began to wander, eventually Matilda returned with their drinks and took their food orders. When she returned she had brought two omelets and a side of hash browns.

After a leisure late breakfast, the two continued to walk around Maneverse for a while until the midday when the Maneverse summer fair began. Running all around were various children enjoying the rides and various games of chance for many wonderful prizes or tasting the various foods at the fair, much to the annoyance of their parents.

“Ah it’s been years since I’ve been to the fair,” Leo said, as he looked around, taking in the sights, sounds of his childhood. Meanwhile Dawn was looking around for something that might catch her eye.

“So, let’s see we’ve got a rollercoaster, a few ferris wheels a tilt-a-whirl, giant slide, a drop tower. Oh!” Dawn said as she noticed a ride she loved in her youth when she would go to the caravel in Meadowlands. It was in a pendulum ride in the shape of a pirate ship. Tapping Leo on the shoulder, she pointed to the ship.

“Oh god not one of those, I hate those rides,” Leo said showing his aversion to riding the giant swinging pirate ship. Dawn gave Leo a wry look and let out a large laugh.

“Oh that’s rich, the oh-so-mighty lion afraid of a pirate ship,” Dawn said, still laughing at Leo, who narrowed his eyes at the ewe.

“Oh you’re on!” He said as he picked up Dawn; placing her on his shoulder and marched the two to the giant swinging ship. Strapping in, the two waited for the ship to begin moving.

“Alright let’s do this!” Dawn said excitedly, this was probably the most excited she’s been in five years. Leo on the other hand had a look that could be interpreted two ways: Abject horror and instantaneous regret, this look intensified when the ride began to move. Swinging up and down causing most of the mammals on it to yell in joy, while Leo, on the other hand was yelling in pure terror. When the ride came to a stop, Dawn and Leo stepped off; Dawn was smiling from end to end while Leo looked shell-shocked.

“I’m never doing that again,” Leo said, making Dawn laugh even more. The two continued to ride on the rides, enjoy the many deep fried foods that came out of a fair, and play carnival games. By the time the sun was setting, Dawn and Leo had managed to win a few stuffed toys and various other dumb items that they only gave out at fairs. Nearly tired from a whole day of fun, Leo and Dawn were sitting on a bench watching the setting sun like yesterday.

“I haven’t had that much fun in a long time,” Dawn said, watching the orange hue that the sky was taking while the summer sun was setting. “Thanks Leo,” Dawn said making Leo glance over to her; she had a rather large smile on her face.

“For what?” He asked a bit confused.

“For bringing me here, it’s been so long since I’ve felt this happy,” Dawn said as she closed her eyes, “I’ve been so unhappy, to just have one piece of joy, even the briefest is in my opinion great,” Dawn said opening her eyes. The two stayed on the bench talking until late into the night when the fair was about to end.

“I hear they’re doing a firework display today,” Leo said as he looked at the dark sky waiting for the fireworks to begin. Soon the sky was filled with various lights and colors as the fireworks exploded overhead, making many onlookers stop and stare in awe. Watching on with wonderment, Dawn and Leo continued to sit enjoying the display of lights in the sky. Glancing at Dawn, Leo could see her pure white wool illuminated by the various flashes of light that came and went, creating a vast cascade. Dawn noticed he looked at her and turned to him. The two looking in one another’s eyes and as if on instinct the two leaned close to one another.


	9. More Than Friends

Dawn has in her thirty-nine years of living on the planet kissed; if she would say so herself, quite a few people. Most of them have been other sheep, such as a boyfriend she had in middle school, there was also her boyfriend in college, and as of three years ago, her cohort in the Night Howler incident, Doug. In her life, she has never kissed a predator, so it was a rather eye-opening experience kissing Leo for the first time. 

 It wasn’t an unpleasant experience all things considered, aside from the slight taste of food that she could taste in his breath, she didn’t find it any different to kissing another sheep. Well that and his mouth was slightly larger than hers. When they pulled apart a firework burst in the air, which in Dawn’s opinion seemed rather apt for the situation. Neither was sure what to say to the other, both looking everywhere but at the other person who just a moment ago they were lip-locked to.

 “So…um, that was…new.” Dawn said as she finally got the courage to speak up, though she still didn’t want to look Leo in the face.

 “Ye-yeah, um….” Both were in this awkward state not sure what to say or do, it was like being a teen again, the first awkward kiss with the mammal you’ve been crushing on for a long time, “Um, I think we should head back to the house.” Leo said which managed to get Dawn out of her slight stupor and she nodded too, left the fair and headed back to the Lionheart residence. Standing outside the house Leo and Dawn were in the weird sort of limbo that only people who have been circling around the idea of being a couple have been, it wasn’t a new feeling for either of them, but it was still not something they experienced regularly.

 “Um…I don’t know what this makes us Dawn.” Leodore said as he looked at the ewe in front of him.

 “I don’t know Leo what do you want us to be?” Dawn asked, Leo was not sure how to answer, he was unsure of what the future was for them, but before he could answer, Dawn spoke up, “Because I do know what I want, I want to forget.” Dawn started as she looked at the star filled night before her.

 “I want to forget the past; I want to forget what the pain was like; and…I just want to move on.” Dawn said looking Leo in the eyes.

 “Dawn, you can’t live your life just trying to forget the past.” Leo said, this made Dawn laugh lightly. She turned away from Leo and sat down on the porch steps basking in the moonlight.

 “Leo, that’s what I’ve spent the past twenty years doing, running from my mother, the death of my sister and father, all I’ve done is run from the past.” Dawn said staring intently at the moon, she then let out a sigh, “I just want to forget Leo.” Dawn finally said as she laid her head onto the top step of the porch. Leo sat down next to her and picked her up gingerly, she wanted to protest but decided against it when Leo placed her in his lap.

“If that’s what you want Dawn, I won’t stop you.” Leo said as he looked Dawn in the eyes, soon tears began to well in them.

“Thanks Leo.” Dawn said through tear stained eyes.

 The next morning Dawn woke up slightly later than yesterday, her body seeming to adjust to the timeframe of not having to be at her job. After taking a brief shower she went into the kitchen where Leo and his sisters were talking and reminiscing about their childhood. When Nala noticed Dawn, she got a slight glint in her eyes.

 “Oh Dawn, Leo told us about what happened last night.” Nala said, making Dawn gawk at the lioness, “Oh don’t worry, we aren’t mad, I mean our brother has a habit of being dumb when it comes to his love life.” This caught Dawn’s attention she could see Leo making a motion for her not to pry further, this of course had the opposite effect.

“Oh really, like how?” Dawn asked as Leo slumped in defeat and his sisters began to giggle.

 “Oh there was this time when he was fourteen and he had this massive crush on this gazelle in our ninth-grade class.” Penda said giggling even more.

 “Oh wasn’t she the one he wrote that oh so cute song about?” Sun asked, Penda and Nala nodded laughing even more.

“Oh Dawn you should have heard it, it was the cutest thing ever, he compared her to the stars above and said her horns were-” She was cut off by Leo placing a paw over his sister’s mouth.

“If you’re done embarrassing me in front of Dawn, I would like to talk to her alone please.”  Leo said as he removed his paw from his sister who stuck her tongue out at him.

 “We’ll tell you later Dawn.” Sun said as she left along with the rest of his sisters. Leo turned back to Dawn who was still laughing at his expense.

 “Are you done?” Leo asked Dawn held up a finger and let out one last long laugh and took a deep breath to regain her composure, “Anyway, Dawn about last night. I wanted to ask you something.” Leo said. Dawn gave him her rapt attention, taking a deep breath he spoke.

 “Dawn, this is rather hard to say, but I would like for you to be my…girlfriend.” Leo said. In this instant, it seemed like time stopped, Dawn had known that Leo had some form of attraction to her (the date from several months ago was tantamount to that already.) But she never imagined him asking her so brazenly out of the blue.  Dawn thought for a moment, which Leo took as indecision.

 “You don’t have to decide now; I just want you to know I-” Dawn cut him off whit a raise of her finger.

 “Okay Leo.” Dawn said in a soft voice, Leo at first didn’t catch her response and asked her to repeat it, “I said Okay, Leo.” Dawn said a smile on her face, walking up to Leo and hugging him. She let out a slight squeak as she was picked up by Leo who brought her face up to his. Gazing into one another’s eyes, the two brought their lips together and shared their second kiss tighter as a couple; the kiss was short lived when the two saw a flash appear. Standing in the door way with giddy smiles on their faces were Leo’s sisters with their phones out.

 “Oh mom is gonna love this when she sees it.” Penda said as she began furiously tapping away on her phone, no doubt to send the picture of Leo and Dawn kissing to Sarabi.

 “Oh no you don’t!” Leo said as he put Dawn down and ran after his sisters who bolted it as soon as they saw what their brother was doing. Dawn let out a small laugh as she sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. She and Leo were dating. It was a new experience to say the least, but in the grand scheme of things, she didn’t mind.

 “Tabitha is gonna have a field day when she hears about this.” Dawn said aloud as she thought of Leo and her mutual elephant friend. Still she couldn’t help but form a smile, life had kicked her, browbeat her and left her a former shell of the ewe she once was, but maybe with the help of Leo, his family and her new friends, she could emerge a new ewe. Gone was the old Dawn Bellwether, now the new one was looking forward to the future and what it held.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, folks that ends this chapter, this is not the end of the story, but it does mean a shift in the tone. Now were going into the sorta recovery phase for Dawn. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter (even if it was short again I promise the next one will be longer.)


	10. You Make Loving Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made a Spotify playlist for this story, if the link I put doesn't show up just search in Spotify Imperfect Love: The Songs that Inspired me, also smut warning. 
> 
> https://play.spotify.com/user/zygarde22/playlist/4pyvMvUNIgALf1kHriNiVq

Dawn’s time in Maneverse was short, but memorable. She had met some rather nice animals in the form of Leo’s mother and his three sisters, and somewhere in that mess she had started a new relationship with a person she did not expect. Still it was good vacation from here doldrum life that was starting to grate on her. Glancing to her side at Leo who was driving, she couldn’t help but smile slightly.

            “Is there something you’re smiling about Dawn?” Leo asked when he noticed Dawn glancing at him, “Or has my handsome face made you giddy.” Leo said jokingly as he turned his head back to the road, Dawn let out a small laugh.

            “In your dreams Lionheart.” Dawn said again laughing a little bit more.

            “Oh Dawn, I’m hurt. Wouldn’t a girlfriend be at least more supportive of her boyfriend.” Leo said in mock hurt to Dawns comment. She rolled her eyes.

            “Like I said, in your dreams.” She said as she laid her head on the headrest of the car seat and let the gentle blanket of sleep envelop her. When she awoke, Leo was already in front of her apartment.

            “Well here we are.” Leo said as he gave Dawn a smile. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Dawn turned to Leo and gave him another smile, “You know, I like it when you do that.”  Leo said, Dawn raised an eyebrow at this.

            “Do what, smile?” Dawn asked, and Leo nodded, bidding Dawn farewell, Leo drove off leaving the ewe to contemplate her thoughts more. Walking up the steps of her apartment she decided she needed a shower, despite having already taken one that morning. Stepping into the shower she let the slightly lukewarm water wash over her.  Her mind began to wonder, most of them just random thoughts that creeped in her mind, like what she would look like if she did her wool some new way, what she was going to have for dinner that night etc. Though as she thought more, her mind began to think of how strange her vacation had been.

            Most people didn’t start a new relationship during a vacation, let alone with their former boss/ current coworker, but here she was now, the two-day girlfriend of Leodore Lionheart. She never thought of something like that being a thing, especially when she worked under him as assistant mayor, granted neither of them probably ever considered that possibility. Considering how different they were back then, both were so concerned with their respective agendas that neither were nice, nor cordial to the other, that and the glorified secretary thing (which was ironic since she was now an actual secretary.)

            Turning off the water Dawn stepped out of the shower and into her bathroom, drying herself off she went to sleep to prepare to go to work the next day.  Upon waking up, Dawn looked around and let out a small sigh. Deciding to not take another shower in 12 hours, Dawn got dressed for work and went outside to wait for Leo. Perking up slightly when she saw the tale tell signs of his car she stood up and walked down the steps she was sitting on. Getting into the cars the two drove to the place of their employment

            “You seem happy, any reason why?” Leo asked Dawn as he drove them to Deauting construction. Dawn shrugged her shoulders and answered.

            “Nothing in particular, just happy I guess.” Dawn said as she looked out the window and watched the city pass her by.  Leo simply chuckled and continued to drive. Upon arriving they were greeted by their mutual friend Tabitha.

            “Hello you two, so how was your vacation, do anything ‘fun?” Tabitha asked, putting emphasis on the word fun, making Leo and Dawn blush collectively. Tabitha laughed at the two much to their embarrassment, “So something did happen!” Tabitha yelled as she tried to get the two to pry as to what append.

            “Come on, what happened? I need to know.” Tabitha continued to pester Dawn well into the noon; much to Dawn’s immense annoyance, instead she continued to work on her computer ignoring her elephant friend.

            “Fine, be that way. I can just ask Leo, and I know how to get him to talk.” Tabatha said in a singsong voice, this seemed to get Dawn to comply because she let out a long sigh and turned to the elephant.

            “Fine, fine. If you have to know Leo and I are…dating.” Dawn said with the last line being barley above a whisper, but Tabatha being the ever-attentive animal she was heard it and began to giggle.

            “I told you, you two were like an old married couple.” Tabitha said, still in her singsong voice, Dawn simply rolled her eyes, “well I’m glad for you two.”  Tabatha said as she began to reminisce when she and her husband started dating.

            “Thanks Tabatha, but could you…not spread this around the office. I already have problems I don’t want this to be another one.” Dawn said as she went back to working on her computer. This request made Tabatha suspicious so she decided to ask further.

            “And why would you and Leo being in a relationship cause problems?” Tabatha asked, Dawn didn’t turn to the elephant, but still answered.

            “Tabatha, I don’t know if you know this, but interspecies relationships are rather…frowned upon; especially ones between predators and prey.” Dawn said and she turned when she heard Tabatha gasp.

            “Really?!” Tabatha asked as if she hadn’t known this, which considering how she was acting, Dawn assumed was true.

            “Yep, they tend to draw negative attention, and like I said the last thing I need is that.” Dawn said as she turned back to her work, just then Leo walked into the office, holding a bag with him.

“Oh, uh hey Tabetha, didn’t expect to see you here.” Leo said, slightly nervous, which indicated that he indeed was not expecting to see the elephant with Dawn.

            “Don’t worry Leo, she already knows.”  Dawn said, not even turning to her boyfriend and instead focusing on her work, Leo let out a sigh of relief and went to Dawn with the bag.

            “Um, Tabetha mind if we get some…um alone time?” Leo asked. Tabatha got the message and bid her two friends Adour leaving Dawn and Leo to talk alone. Leo smiled as he took out the food from the paper bag and slid the Styrofoam container towards the ewe.

            “How was your day?” Leo asked as he took a bite of his cricket burger, Dawn turned to him and smiled.

            “I guess it was fine, minus Tabatha bothering me to tell her about our vacation.” Dawn said as she began to eat, Leo laughed at the idea of an elephant several times Dawn’s size bothering her like a gossipy school cub; the mental image alone was enough to put a smile on his face.

            “That seems like something she would do.” Leo said remembering some of the stranger and funnier things that Tabatha has done, most of them at the behest of her husband.

            “She’s a character, I’ll say that much.” Dawn said as she poked at her salad and took a forkful of lettuce into her mouth. The two continued to talk about their day and how it went for the rest of lunch time. When the regular work day ended, the two were in Leo’s car driving to Dawn’s apartment.

            “Well here we are, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Leo said as he stopped in front of the apartment. Dawn turned to Leo and gave him another smile. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she stood up and walked over to Leo standing in his lap, she kissed the lion for the third time.

            “Thanks Leo, see you tomorrow.” Dawn said as she left the vehicle with a slightly stunned Leodore Lionheart inside.

            “I may never get used to that.” Leo said, touching his lips. A few weeks passed with Leo and Dawn dating, so they figured it was high time for them to go on their first date, as couple. Dawn was standing in front of her mirror looking at the dress she decided to wear for the date, it was technically one of the same dresses she’d already worn, but Leo liked it so she figured it would fit. Stepping out to the steps she could see the nightlife in Zootopia was the same as ever. She waited a few minutes for Leo to show up in his car. When he did she smiled at him and hopped in.

            “Evening Dawn, you look nice.” Leo said as he looked Dawn over a few times, she was wearing the dress he liked, a big plus in Leo’s book.

            “Thanks you look, well I can’t really say dashing since I’ve seen you in a suit before.” Dawn said chuckling at Leo’s wry look, “What it’s true, you almost always wore a suit when I was working with you back at city hall.” Dawn said, still chuckling.

            “So you said this place were heading too is pretty good right.” Dawn asked, Leo nodded as they drove to the restaurant in question.

            “Yep, been there a few times on some dates back in my past, lovely place.” Leo said remembering the times he’s been to the restaurant, the laughs he’s had with a few of his ex’s and other fun times.

            “And you’re sure no one is going to raise a stink about us being on a date, right?” Dawn asked, not wanting to get into any trouble with any prejudice animals for being on a date with another species; this was pretty much the last thing she would want from this night. 

            “Yep, I’ve been to this place with a lynx, a giraffe and a coyote, so they are very accepting of cross species relationships.” Leodore said as they finally made it into the parking lot of the restaurant. The restaurant itself was rather small, well small compared to Leo any way, outside she could see the sign that read “Den d'amoureux” Dawn looked at Leo with a wry look.

            “Really, lovers den?” Dawn said reading the title much to Leo’s surprise.

            “Didn’t know you read French, Dawn.” Leo said as they exited his car and headed to the entrance of the restaurant, the host was a grey wolf who seated them at a two-person table in the corner. Looking around her, Dawn could see that Leo was right about the place, there were several cross-species couples dotted all around the small establishment.

            “So you’ve been to this place before, what do they serve?” Dawn asked as she looked at the menu, she could see a rather even spread of predator and prey foods.

            “A little of everything.” Leo said as he looked at his menu. Eventually Leo and Dawn decided on what they wanted to eat leaving the two to talk while they waited.

            “You know this is the first time I’ve been on a date in over three years.”  Dawn said idly as she took a sip of some Rosé.

            “I can imagine, so who was the last person you dated if you don’t mind me asking?” Leo asked Dawn who rolled her eyes, an image of her old cohort Doug flashed briefly in her mind.

            “Remember that one sheep that I hung around with and helped me with the incident.” Dawn said not wanting to say the Night Howler incident aloud least she get some very, very unwanted attention.

            “You mean Doug?” Leo asked, Dawn nodded, and Leo had to fight back the want to sorta laugh at that. Leo had met Doug maybe once or twice when they were still working in city hall; Dawn had introduced him as her friend from college, and this being that time in their lives Leo took it at face value.

            “Yep, it of course ended, so who was the last person you dated?” Dawn asked now turning the tables on Leo. He had a slight tinge to his mouth, an almost inkling of what usually resembled his signature grin.

            “Ah, that was about two, no one year ago.” Leo said as he remembered his last relationship, it was with another predator, a lioness this time.

            “She was a lioness; Pearl I think her name was.” Leo said, trying to remember the lioness that he broke up with not too long ago.

            “So I take it you two broke up, was it one of those messy, heat of the moment break ups or mutual, I know with me and Doug there was some shouting involved?”  Dawn said, remembering how she broke up with Doug a few days before the Night Howler incident even occurred.

            “It was amicable, she wanted different things than I, she’s still a close friend of mine.” Leo said as he looked at Dawn, she had finished her wine and was patently waiting for her food and a refill to arrive.

            “So, Dawn why did you really decide to date me.” Leo asked, Dawn thought for a few moments and then spoke up.

            “Leo, you show me that people no matter how hard can change, I can change.” Dawn said as she looked at the empty wine glass, “I want to change Leo, I want to not go back to the old me, I figured you can change from the pompous jerk you were when we first met to this, then I can change as well.”  Dawn said as their food was brought to them. They spent the rest of the evening talking and enjoying the rather nice food, by the end of the night the two were in Leo’s apartment drinking cider and talking about various things.

            “And so she just started laughing.” Leo said in the middle of recounting a tale of one of his former lovers to Dawn who was laughing along with him gingerly sipping a bottle of cider.

                        “Well I can see why; I’m still surprised she went out with you after that god-awful song.” Dawn said as she took another sip of her cider. She was sitting in his lap as he was telling the tale allowing his body heat to resonate through her. As she got comfortable and began to close her eyes, they almost immediately shot open when she felt something poking her in the bottom, and it was familiar given Dawn’s experience.

            “Um, Leo.” Dawn spoke up getting the lion’s attention he looked down at Dawn.

            “Yeah Dawn, something wrong?” Leo asked, he then noticed what Dawn was talking about and he was embarrassed, “Oh-oh I’m sorry ab-” He stopped and let out a small gasp when he felt Dawn squirm slightly in his lap

            “It’s okay Leo, I don’t mind.” Dawn said in the sultriest voice she could muster, which for Leo was working too well for his liking, “You know I’ve been meaning to ask you about this.” Dawn said as she continued to tease Leo.

            “D-Dawn did you plan on this happening?” Leo asked as he tried to keep his involuntary noises to a minimum, with little success, not helped by the fact that with every gasp or slight groan he’d make Dawn would speed up her teasing.

            “No, but you know me Leo, I’m ever the opportunistic animal.” Dawn said giggling lightly as she ramped up her teasing.

            “Isn’t this moving a bit fast Dawn?” Leo gasped out much to his embarrassment.

            “Nope, not to me, Leo I’ve been around as long as you have, and I know what I want and right now, I want you.” Dawn said as she turned around to face Leo looking him in the eyes.

            “Fine, but could we at least do this in a place much more…romantic I’d rather our first time together not be on my couch?” Leo asked and Dawn nodded. Carefully Leo picked the ewe up and brought her into his bedroom.

            “So um, how do you want this to play out Dawn?” Leo asked as Dawn sat down on the bed, “Do you wanna go slow, fast or…?” Leo said trailing off as he noticed Dawn slipping off her dress. When she was done, she was now only cladded with the bell that was around her neck and her pure white wool. Leo for his part was speechless looking at his girlfriend naked and in front of him.

            “Got you by the tongue eh?” Dawn said giving him a wink, this made the already embarrassed lion even more embarrassed, “Well, are we gonna start?” Dawn asked winking at Leo again. Letting out a sigh Leo psyched himself up he then went to his nightstand and inside he found a few condoms.

            “Do you really think I’m gonna get pregnant from this?” Dawn asked as she saw this display. Leo let out a small chuckle and went about removing his cloths.

            “I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Leo said as he slipped the rubber underneath in between his legs. He thin gingerly picked Dawn up and positioned himself near her entrance.

            “Be gentle, this is my first time with someone as…big as you.”  Dawn said as feeling the tip of Leo’s member nearly at her entrance. Slowly at first Leo began to lower Dawn onto him, until the tip of his malehood was prodding at her entrance.

            “Alright here goes nothing.” Leo said as he full impaled Dawn on his member, causing the ewe to let out a long groan.  Soon Leo lifted her back up and gently slid her back down, keeping a steady rhythm as he did. With each plunge Dawn clung tighter and tighter to Leo’s chest, each thrust causing her to let out a gasp of pleasure.

            “God this is better than I imagined.” Leo said, gritting his teeth as he continued to plunge in and out of Dawn.

            “Y-You imagined this before?” Dawn managed to say in-between gasps. Leo nodded as he began to pick up his pace, feeling he was close to the edge. He then heard Dawn let out a small cry. Soon he felt her inner walls clamp down on his member as she began to clutch harder at his chest. After a few seconds she Dawn was panting and holding onto Leo as though her life depended on it.

            “You okay Dawn?” Leo asked, having never seen as intense an orgasm as Dawn had just experienced.

            “I-I’m fine just, let’s continue.” Dawn said as she began to bounce herself on Leo’s member. Leo let out a small moan as he felt Dawn bounce up and down soon he let out a roar as he filled the condom with his seed. Breathing heavily Leo removed Dawn from his member and let out a content sigh.

            “That was, god I’ve, just wow.” Dawn said lying on her stomach, her form wrapped around Leo’s chest. Leo gently stroked the ewe’s back; neither wanting to get up, least the moment end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't know this I'm rather uncomfortable writing smut, but I do it any way cause it helps me improve I just hope it wasn't too awkward. Anway the story is still not over we've got a few more chapters.


	11. How Far We've Come

Dawn was the first of the two to wake up after their first time together, it was an interesting experience to say the least. Glancing around the room, she could see the many artifacts that made up the personal space of Leodore Lionheart. Glancing to her side she could see the still form of her boyfriend, his chest rose and fell as he slept soundly. Removing the covers from her naked form, Dawn got up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom to take a morning shower. Turning on the shower and letting the warm water run over her wool Dawn let out a content sigh.

            “Hmm what to do today, it’s a day off and I don’t have much in the way of, I guess I could go shopping with Leo since he said he needed some more stuff.” Dawn said, her mind lost in thought. Turning off the shower, Dawn stepped out and saw something that made her smile a bit; it was a pair of towels with a note on them. Walking over to the cloth she read the note which had inscribed on it.

            _Hey Dawn, I knew you didn’t like shaking after getting out of my shower. So, I brought these, especially for you._

_Love~ your awesome boyfriend Leo._

            Dawn couldn’t help but form a smile. Drying herself off, Dawn could hear from behind the door Leo talking on his phone no doubt. Dawn put her cloths on and stepped into the hallway she could see Leo in his morning robe, no doubt covering his naked body.

            “Morning Dawn, good to see you up and about.” Leo said as he gave Dawn a gentle kiss on her forehead.

            “Yeah, so Leo we have most of the day off, right?” Dawn asked as she looked at the time on her phone to see it was around ten in the morning, so that meant that the supermarket was open. Leo nodded and went into the bathroom, “Well I guess it’s the supermarket it is then.”  Dawn said as she checked to see if she had any money in her purse, when she saw that she only had a few dollars she sighed.

            “I hate not having cash.” Dawn said in slight indignation as she put her purse down. She then heard the bathroom door open and out from it emerged a fully dressed Leodore Lionheart.

            “So, Dawn what are we going to do with our free time today?” Leo asked the ewe, sitting down on his bed. Dawn turned to him and smiled.

                        “We…” Dawn started putting emphasis on we, “…are going grocery shopping.”  Dawn finished as she put her purse on her shoulder.

            “Why we?” Leo asked as he got up to follow Dawn out of the apartment and to his car.

            “Because I need groceries, and so do you, so we might as well go together.” Dawn said as she sat down, Leo rolled his eyes and got into the driver’s seat. The drive to the local supermarket would not take long.       

            “You know Dawn I have a question, why do you never drive?” Leo asked, Dawn gave him the quintessential sheepish look (which was not that hard since she was indeed a sheep)

            “I kinda don’t have a driver’s license.” Dawn said, upon hearing these words Leo burst out laughing. And he did this for a good five minutes before he stopped.

            “How do you not have a license?”  Leo asked Dawn, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

            “It was never a big priority to me, I’m so used to public transit or carpooling that I never bothered to get one.”  Dawn replied, Leo sighed and shook his head as they finally made their way to the grocery store. The place was stocked to the brim with the things that any mammal would need, whether it be food, tech, or anything in-between.

            “Hmm let’s see I got protein burgers, some veggie burgers and… oh no.” Dawn said as she looked at her list before dropping the parchment at the thing or rather animal she saw in the corner of her eyes. Standing a few feet away from Dawn with a grocery cart and a trio of kits with her was the one animal she did not want to see at all: Judy Hopps.  And there was only one thing Dawn could do and she froze, like a deer in a headlight.

            “Um Dawn are you okay.” Leo asked, he then saw where Dawn was looking and immediately began to connect the dots, “Is that Judy Hopps?” Leo asked and Dawn nodded, a look of **determination**

            “Listen Dawn I know what you’re thinking, but you can’t keep running away from your past, plus this is the perfect time for you to apologize.” Leo said. And Dawn still panicking was trying her best to not go through with that plan.

            “But what if she still hates me, I mean it’s only been three years, there’s no way that those scars healed.” Dawn said, trying to turn around, she was subsequently turned back around by Leo.

            “Dawn, do you really want to keep this up, face your demons, it’s the only way you’ll ever get over this.” Leo said, giving Dawn a thumb up in encouragement. Dawn swallowed down a lump in her throat and walked over to where Judy was.

            “No, Nathan we aren’t getting that kind of cereal.” Judy said to one of the kits that was tugging on her dress.

            “Um hi Miss Hopps.” Judy heard a voice say.

            “Sorry it’s Misses Wilde can I help…you….” Judy turned to look at a face she hadn’t seen in three years, “Dawn?” Judy said, looking the ewe up and down with a face of disbelief.

            “In the flesh… oh congrats on getting married.”  Dawn said, trying to not run away or explode in embarrassment or fear.

            “Um…thanks I heard you got released.” Judy said. She could see a few feet behind her, former Mayor Lionheart, it’s like the weirdest parts of her past were coming to say **hello**.

            “Um so I came here to apologize for…well everything. I know there’s not much I can say that can really repair the damage I’ve done, but I just want you to know.” Dawn said as she turned from Judy and went to Leo a slight smile on her face.

            “I think that went well.” Dawn said, feeling as though a giant weight had been lifted off her chest, meanwhile back where Judy was, Nick had just returned holding a few items.

            “Hey, um you look like Fangmeyer at our last holiday party, something happen?” Nick asked his wife as he waved his paw in front of her face to see if she was okay. Snapping out of her confusion, Judy turned to Nick and shook her head.

            “Nah just saw an animal I haven’t seen in a long time.” Judy said as she and Nick continued to browse the store. On the ride, back to Leo’s apartment, Dawn could feel he wanted to talk to her about something so she spoke up.

            “Is there something wrong Leo?” Dawn asked. Leo shook his head.

            “Nope, just glad you got that off your chest. Dawn, I know this hasn’t been an easy road, for neither of us, but to see you making progress is the best thing I could ever hope see.” Leo said with a large smile on his face. Dawn shook her head in amusement, a smile emerging on her face as well. Looking at the road ahead of her, Dawn was not sure what her future held but she was ready to see it.

            Time takes us to many strange places, the few months turned into a year and eventually Dawn moved into Leo’s apartment.

            “Is that the last of your stuff?” Leo asked as he moved one final box of items into his apartment with Dawn looking through most of them to make sure the moving company didn’t damage anything.

            “Yeah, that should be everything, thanks for the help Leo.” Dawn said as she closed the box she was looking through, she was lifted up into the air by Leo, him holding her close to his chest.

            “What problem, I mean we’re moving in together, can’t necessarily let my girlfriend do all the heavy lifting.” Leo said as he kissed Dawn on the forehead much to her amusement. Prying herself from Leo she opened a box and began moving things.

            “Well come on, we gotta put this stuff away.” Dawn said. Leo followed suite, and a few days later Dawn was officially moved in. The two celebrated by going out for dinner and having a generally nice time. While moving in was a joyous occasion, it did not go unnoticed by many of their co-workers. While some were indifferent to Leo and Dawn’s relationship a good bit (most of them predators) were to a degree offended, still this did not put a damper on Dawn nor Leo’s mood. This year soon turned into two, and then three and so on, then one day while in Maneverse on vacation, Leo and Dawn visited the state fair that started their relationship, enjoyed the fireworks display.

            In Leo’s mind, he was mentally preparing himself for what he wanted to do at this moment. Digging through his pocket he pulled out a velvet black box, inside was a single ring with an emerald gem, the same color as Dawns eyes.

            “Listen Dawn, I know we-” He was cut off by Dawn immediately answering.

            “Yes.” Dawn said, not even looking at her boyfriend, this confused Leo to a degree since he didn’t even get to say what he was about to talk about.

            “Um Dawn do you even know what I’m about to ask you?” Leo asked, Dawn nodded and let out a small laugh and looked Leo dead in his eyes.

            “Leo, you wanna marry me am I correct?” Dawn asked, when Leo nodded she scooted closer to him placing her head on his broad chest, “Well I say yes, I just have one condition.” Dawn said. Leo laughed and picked Dawn up placing her firmly in his lap.

            “And what is that condition?” Leo asked as he looked at the fireworks bursting in the air.

            “That you take my last name; it’s mostly because Dawn Lionheart sounds less…good than Leodore Bellwether.” Dawn said she heard Leo let out a large hearty laugh at this.

            “Sure Dawn, I can live with that.” Leo said as he placed his chin on Dawns head, closing his eyes.

            Dawn had never thought she would be married in her life, well that’s not true; she never thought she would marry a predator. All her life she had imagined she would probably settle down with some nice ram and settle down, have some kids etc. But here she was standing before a mirror looking at her wedding dress, about to meet her soon to be husband and be joined in union.

            “You look so lovely Dawn.” Tabatha said, placing a comforting paw on her friends shoulder.

            “Thanks, I’m so nervous.” Dawn said. This has probably been the most nervous she’d ever been in her entire forty-three years of life.

            “Don’t be, I was the same when I walked down the aisle, you’ll be fine.” Tabatha said. Dawn nodded and opened the door, standing at the foot of a floral alter, was her soon to be husband, all around her she could see friends and family, including Judy and Nick Wilde who she invited not expecting them to show up.

            “You can do this Dawn.” Dawn said under her breath as she walked to the alter where Leo was standing. The two joined hands as they said their I do’s. And when Leo kissed her by lifting her literally off her feet, the wedding crowed readily hollered with excitement and clapping. 

            “I love you Dawn.” Leo said as they sat down in the front porch of their new home in Maneverse. It had been a week since their wedding, the two opting to not have a honeymoon. The new house was a gift from Leo’s mother and his sisters. Dawn looked at Leo a large grin on her face.

            “I love you too, Leo.” Dawn replied as she scooted up to her husband. Life was never perfect for Dawn, hell it was sometimes downright dreadful, but imperfect was sometimes better than perfect, it was how things were. All you could do was find people who cared for you, and loved you. And that’s what Dawn found in the Lionheart family and in Tabitha, and her husband, and the other friends she had found along the way.

 

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you guys liked this final chapter It was a blast working on this story Thank you to my two editors Bovine Beauty and Thedankestofmemes (wherever you are.) and thank you dear readers for putting with my long lapses in writing, and constant delays Sorry if this end feels abrupt, but do not fret I plan on making a sequel in some time I just need to finish a few of my other stories first, until then if you are interested read my Pokémon Fanfic Alola My Love since that’s where I’m gonna be putting most of my attention at, and remember I’ll see you guys on the far side.


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